Relationship Couples, Marriage Counsellor and Psychotherapist in Oxford
Welcome to my website!
You have taken a courageous step to seek therapy and so finding the right therapist is very important. You may be in a place that is causing you distress - a relationship crisis, an affair, a separation, divorce or you may be struggling with anxiety, depression or managing a life stage change. It may be you just need a quiet place to explore issues that prevent you moving forward in your life. I offer you a warm and safe place to talk about what's troubling you - a place where you are not judged but valued, listened to and understood. Your confidentiality is always respected.
Couples Counselling
I specialise in relationship couples counselling - my training and experience gained over 16 years with the Marriage Guidance Charity, Relate and also in private practice.
Couples get caught in a negative cycle of conversations and behaviours that evolve over time and are difficult to resolve – there are sometimes just too many layers to work through or the emotional risk is too great. Couples in this situation do need some support as, very often, they are unable to fix it for themselves.
If this is where you are, then I completely understand how tough it must be for you to imagine coming to talk to a stranger on such a personal and important matter as your relationship. Just to let you know, my knowledge and experience in working with couples has been enhanced by my training as an Emotionally Focused therapist. EFT is an experiential model of therapy that places emphasis on exploring and processing underlying emotional experiences. Couples get caught in a relationship "dance" of negative conversations, behaviours and thoughts that evolve over time and are often difficult to talk about or resolve. Sometimes, there are just too many "layers" to work through or the emotional risk is too great to take. As an Emotionally Focused Couples Therapist my aim is to explore the issues and support you both to emerge from your current difficulties to a place where you can rebuild trust, re-discover mutual needs, gain understanding and build a physically and emotionally stronger relationship. Please visit my page, "What Clients have said".
1-2-1 Psychotherapy
My grounding is in psychodynamic counselling - a model that has its roots in Sigmund Freud's theories developed in the 1940’s. His studies suggest that our early experiences of emotions, thoughts and behaviours impact on the present and in particular our relationships with people - for example, people adopt defensive and projective behaviours that do more harm than good. Psychotherapy is a journey of discovery of self awareness that enables change - my aim is to help you work through the barriers that interfere with your emotional and mental well being. Many clients find they enjoy this journey of personal growth. Please visit my page, "What Clients have said".
Professional Accreditation
I’m a registered member of BACP and an accredited member of NCS - both organisations are on the regulated Professional Standards Authority Registers. I practice within their Code of Ethics.
I hold a full Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance and a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Certificate and registered with the organisation, ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) for
data protection.
To further assure you of my professional background the qualifications of my training are:-
• MA (Distn) Counselling – Goldsmiths College, University College London
• BA (Hons) Post Compulsory Education – Brookes University, Oxford
• Certified Emotionally Focused Therapist - International Centre of Excellence Emotionally Focused Therapy (ICEEFT)
• Certificate in Marital & Couple Counselling - Relate
• Certificate (Theory & Practice) CSCT
My background and professional development
On a personal level, one could say I’ve had the “experience of life” that has shaped and developed me. I have enjoyed a long and enjoyable career in adult education, training and careers advice sector. The decision to enhance my skill sets and develop personally led me to train as a Counsellor some years ago.
Continuous Professional Development is essential to my work and I regularly attend workshops and training to enhance my knowledge and inform my practice.
I provide relationship couples, marriage counselling and 1-2-1 psychotherapy in Oxford (OX4)
During Covid-19, sessions are offered by virtual video communication platforms.
